Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea is respected as one of the best, young and emerging minds in college football, which is a big reason why the former Commodore fullback landed the Vanderbilt head coaching position following the dismissal of Derek Mason in Nashville.

Despite all the praise Lea has received leading Notre Dame’s defense in recent seasons, there’s not much optimism that the Irish will manage to slow down DeVonta Smith in the upcoming Rose Bowl.

That’s not necessarily a disservice to Lea’s defense, it’s more about Smith being arguably the most dominant player in the sport this season.

In the lone game where Smith was handled by an opposing defense (against Arkansas Smith had just three catches for 22 yards), the receiver returned a punt for a touchdown and the rest of Alabama’s offense scored 48 points on their way to a 55-17 win.

“He’s tough. He’s very tough. He’s just a football player. He plays on teams. He does so much for that team. And I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” Lea said of Smith on Tuesday. “But I think the one thing that stands out is he’s got another gear. When he hits his accelerator, he has a chance to separate. And the number of times you see that on film, you understand pretty quickly that every snap there’s an opportunity for them to score.

“And so we have to be leveraged properly. We have to have awareness of where he is all the time. And, you know, we’re going to have to win to have a chance to be successful at the level we want to be successful at.”

Good luck with that, you are going to need it.